Our Favorite Printing Was about Abraham Lincoln

Ripon Printers’ modern history began in 1962 when the Lyke family purchased the Ripon Commonwealth Press, a storied news­pa­per that dates back to the Civil War and covered President Abraham Lincoln. The award-winning news­pa­per lives on under the able lead­er­ship of Tim Lyke, while brother Andy heads the commer­cial print­ing enter­prise – Ripon Printers – now one of North America’s largest print­ing and graphic services compa­nies.

It wasn’t always so large, of course. The customer list was strictly local during the early days, and there were just 13 employ­ees. But a modest web press purchased in 1965 changed the busi­ness substan­tially. With signif­i­cant new capac­ity, Ripon began to produce longer run work region­ally and then statewide. Growth contin­ued unabated, and the print­ing busi­ness was spun off in 1986.

Today Ripon Printers special­izes in the produc­tion and distri­b­u­tion of cata­logs, direct mail, publi­ca­tions and digi­tal commu­ni­ca­tions for marketers and publish­ers. Our company’s hall­marks are flex­i­ble sched­ul­ing, excep­tional customer train­ing programs and equip­ment diver­sity for handling a wide range of needs. The result is a customer expe­ri­ence that is friendly, effi­cient and hassle free.

Leadership Born from Experience

The entre­pre­neur­ial spirit, family values and customer focus of founders Doug Lyke (1930 – 2002) and Audrey Lyke (1930 – 2017) continue to guide Ripon Printers. While Doug’s busi­ness savvy and sales­man­ship helped propel company growth, Audrey’s finan­cial acumen and commu­nity spirit combined to make Ripon Printers a special place to work. We build upon their exam­ples each day.

Andy began his print­ing career by help­ing out at his family’s weekly news­pa­per, sweep­ing floors and insert­ing flyers into weekly shop­pers. He went on to attend the University of Notre Dame and completed a bachelor’s degree in account­ing. After spend­ing two years in the Chicago office of Arthur Andersen as a staff audi­tor, he returned to Ripon Printers in 1985 as the company’s controller and then became pres­i­dent and CEO in 1999. Always look­ing toward the future, Andy laid the foun­da­tion for our leap into the digi­tal age.

Julie fulfills a vital role that recog­nizes the impor­tance of being a customer-centric orga­ni­za­tion and builds upon Ripon Printers’ strong commit­ment to customer service excel­lence. She brings nearly 30-years’ expe­ri­ence in the graphic arts indus­try includ­ing manage­ment roles in prepress, manu­fac­tur­ing, custom prod­uct devel­op­ment, sales and customer support. Julie adds new dimen­sions to our customer expe­ri­ence that help make Ripon Printers a preferred supplier.

After grad­u­at­ing in 1981 from St. Olaf College in Northfield, MN, Tim moved to the Twin Cities where he helped over­see a system of 12 Montessori pre-schools. He then spent five years as editor of a four-edition weekly news­pa­per until his father invited him home to publish the Ripon Commonwealth Press, a publish­ing enter­prise that now includes The Express shop­per and a summer vaca­tion tabloid, The Green Laker. Tim helped the publi­ca­tions evolve into peren­nial award winners for excel­lence.

A Ripon Printers employee since 1988, Jeff’s exten­sive back­ground includes lead­ing the company’s prepress tran­si­tion from conven­tional to digi­tal work­flow, as well as roles in esti­mat­ing, purchas­ing, customer service, account­ing and infor­ma­tion systems. A grad­u­ate of the Graphic Arts Management program at the University of Wisconsin-Stout, ​“Spence” also played key roles in two other major initia­tives – lead­ing the company’s lean enter­prise efforts and over­see­ing the inte­gra­tion of Ripon Printers’ first major acqui­si­tion.

Jeff joined Ripon Printers in 1992, work­ing as a third-shift web press­man. He then moved into the esti­mat­ing depart­ment where he stream­lined processes and became depart­ment super­vi­sor. Jeff’s abil­ity to work effec­tively with both the sales staff and customers ulti­mately earned a promo­tion to the exec­u­tive manage­ment team as vice pres­i­dent of sales and market­ing. His many accom­plish­ments include devel­op­ing a high caliber inside and outside sales team that success­fully serves our national customer base.

The Beast Arrives

There have been a lot of tech­no­log­i­cal mile­stones at Ripon Printers (with more to come), but the arrival in 2003 of our first 8-unit MAN Roland Rotoman N heat­set press launched a whirl­wind of change. It was the first ​“stacked” instal­la­tion of the press in North America and neces­si­tated our eighth build­ing addi­tion, increas­ing total square feet to 244,000.

But the MAN Roland repre­sented much more than a new press. Its arrival trans­formed us into a heat­set web printer and opened new markets. The advanced tech­nol­ogy further encour­aged the addi­tion of comple­men­tary tech­nolo­gies from 100% digi­tal work­flow systems to our first vari­able data digi­tal press.

The Awards Keep Coming

A funny thing happens when highly trained, compe­tent people set out to do their very best work in a collab­o­ra­tive envi­ron­ment. People notice. That’s how it works at Ripon Printers. We have great customers who design great print mate­ri­als, and then we put every­thing we’ve got behind making those pieces really shine. The result is often an award for design and print excel­lence from a wide range of pres­ti­gious regional, national and inter­na­tional compe­ti­tions. We invite you to view what we’ve accom­plished with our customers and think about what we could do for you.

Working at Ripon Printers.

If you’re look­ing for a company to call home, consider a career at Ripon Printers. Our employ­ees aver­age 15 years of expe­ri­ence with the company and enjoy career enhanc­ing cross train­ing and skill devel­op­ment programs. We offer compet­i­tive wages, a robust bene­fit pack­age and an excel­lent work envi­ron­ment. Many of our bene­fits are pre-tax and come under our Flexible Benefit Plan, which gives employ­ees choices for their annual elec­tion of bene­fits.

Awards We Share with Our Esteemed Clients

I’d like to person­ally thank our many customers who entrust us to produce their most impor­tant work. We take that respon­si­bil­ity seri­ously and contin­u­ally invest in the people, tech­nolo­gies and systems required to print at the high­est level. The many awards we’ve won together are a testa­ment to the wonder­fully collab­o­ra­tive rela­tion­ships we enjoy.

—Andy

2017 Graphic Excellence Awards

Sponsored by Great Lakes Graphics Association

Web Press Printing, coated paper (4 or more colors)

DuPont Luxury Portfolio International, Best of Category

Product/Service Catalogs (cover sheetfed, interior web):

Trek Project One Catalog, Best of Category

Novelty Books:

Lake County Press — Indy 500 — 100th Running, Best of Category

Booklets (4 or more colors):

Lionell 2017 Signature Edition, Award of Excellence

Magazine Series:

Elite Traveler, Award of Excellence

Product Catalogs (4 or more colors):

Dream in Kohler, Award of Excellence

Juvenile Books:

Junior Great Books — Series K Vol 1 – 3, Certificate of Merit

Architectural/Art/Travel/Other Magazines:

Alcoholmanac 10th Anniversary Issue, Certificate of Merit

Product Catalogs (4 or more colors):

Pursuit Ride/1.0 — 2016, Certificate of Merit

2016 Graphic Excellence Awards

Sponsored by Great Lakes Graphics Association

Magazines (cover: sheetfed, interior: web):

Elite Traveler — Into the Wild, Best of Category

Architectural/Art/Travel/Other Magazines:

MI Magazine — Issue 1, Best of Category & Best of Division

Web Press Printing, Uncoated Paper (4 or more colors) Heatset:

Do You Dream in Kohler?, Best of Category

Booklets (4 or more colors):

Wigwam — The Look Book 2015, Best of Division

Product Catalogs (4 or more colors):

Victor — Issue 1 — 2016, Best of Division

Booklets (4 or more colors):

Floriology — 6th Anniversary Issue, Award of Excellence

Soft Cover Books:

Trek — Brand Book, Award of Excellence

Product Catalogs (4 or more colors):

Trek — Welcome Book, Award of Excellence

Internal Communication Pieces (4 or more colors):

Wisconsin Bike Federation, Certificate of Merit

Service Catalogs (4 or more colors):

Wheelhouse — Summer 2015, Certificate of Merit

Fashion/Health/Pop Culture Magazines:

Weird N.J. — Issue #44, Certificate of Merit

Product Catalogs (4 or more colors):

TechFlex — Braided Sleeving Solutions, Certificate of Merit

Magazine Series:

Alcoholmanac — Southeast Wisconsin, Certificate of Merit

Product/Service Catalogs (cover: sheetfed, interior: web):

Divers Alert Network (DFAPro), Certificate of Merit

Calendars:

Celtic Spirit — 2016 Calendar, Certificate of Merit

2016 Premier Print Awards

Sponsored by Printing Industries of America

Web Press Printing (4 or more colors, uncoated paper):

Do You Dream in Kohler?, Best of Category (Benny)

Product/Service Catalogs (Cover-sheetfed; Interior-web):

Trek — Custom — Project One, Award of Recognition

Product Catalogs (4 or more colors, printers with more than 250 employees):

Lionel — 2016 Ready To Run, Award of Recognition

Digital Printing — Brochures and Booklets (4 or more colors):

Kohler — Trends 1, Award of Recognition

2016 Gold Ink Awards

Sponsored by North American Printing Company

Digital Printing, Marketing Collateral

Wigwam — The Look Book 2015, Bronze Award

Consumer Catalogs, Sheetfed

Victor Jet Catalog — Issue 1, Pewter Award

2014 – 2015 Graphic Excellence Awards

Sponsored by Great Lakes Graphics Association

Web Press Printing/Uncoated Paper/4 or more colors/coldset:

University of Wisconsin Press — Wisconsin in Print 2015, Best of Category

Web Press Printing (1,2 or 3 colors, coated or uncoated paper):

Web Press Printing (4 or more colors, uncoated paper):

University of Wisconsin Press Wisconsin in Print 2015, Certificate of Merit

2014 – 2015 Gold Ink Awards

Sponsored by North American Printing Company

Digital Printing, Calendars

Celtic Spirit 2015, Silver Award

Digital Printing, Photo Books

Trek Inspirational Travel — Moscow, Pewter Award

Magazines, Event Programs

2014 Special Olympics USA Games, Pewter Award

Our Sustainability Commitment

Ripon Printers is commit­ted to produc­ing print mate­ri­als that address the current needs of content providers and consumers with­out nega­tively impact­ing the abil­ity of future gener­a­tions to provide for them­selves. We support a vari­ety of programs that protect, preserve and enhance the envi­ron­ment. Emission control, source reduc­tion and recy­cling are the main focal points of our Environmental Policy.

We work collab­o­ra­tively with customers to address the entire print produc­tion and distri­b­u­tion supply chain. Our holis­tic approach helps content providers consider how their mate­ri­als will be printed, distrib­uted, used and recov­ered, as well as the impact of the actual raw mate­ri­als used in produc­tion.